Puzzle giveaway for booklovers, answers and explanations posted below!

Hello puzzlers! Giveaways have ended, answers and explanations are below.

Puzzle one
Puzzle two
Puzzle three

The 1st game is the last question/answer in Puzzle 1. The 2nd and 3rd game collections are the last 2 answers of Puzzle 3.

Hints and Answers for Puzzle 1:

General - The first four characters are by British authors. Two are actually from the UK, one is European, and the other indeterminate. Secret agent genre

H1 - The second and third clues refer to two Europeans, one from the present and another from the Cold War.
A1 - Karla, from several novels by John le Carré.

• "Smile" and "smileyface" refer to George Smiley, a recurring major character, while the relationship refers to Smiley's enemy, his Soviet counterpart Karla.
• 2nd clue refers to a former First Lady, with the incorrect "é" in "degrée" suggesting French. Thus, Carla Bruni.
• 3rd refers to a Wolf (capitalised to indicate name) from the East; in context of a European from the Cold War, this becomes Markus Wolf of East German intelligence, who is widely seen to bear similarities irl to the fictional Karla.

H2 - The events are somewhat based on true events concerning the people referenced in the clues. This clue is an empty crutch.
A2 - The Jackal, from The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth.

• "Gaulle" misspelled refers to Charles de Gaulle, former French President. "The Day" and "titular character" refers to the title, while the jackal did die at the end. His failure to kill de Gaulle (who bent down to kiss a veteran) as I described it was for those who read the book, as that's what happened. - 2nd clue refers to the Jackal using a deceased child's birth certificate to acquire a passport.
• O, AS is the OAS, the contracting organisation in the novel, and also in actual events. The Jackal's true identity was not uncovered in the novel. Also, the "empty crutch" refers to the method (a hollow metal crutch) he used to transport his weapon.

H3 - Think professorial. As for Abdul, this one likes to sing. The 'newman' is a former journalist.
A3 - Tweed, in many novels by Colin Forbes.

• Forbes wrote 24 novels in his series until his death in 2006, one per year. Forbes was also his pseudonym. "Singular" indicates one name only, while "British clothing" refers to nationality and actual name.
• "Sister agency" to MI-5 would be the SIS. "Newman" was a misspelled 'newsman' to indicate his profession and actual name (Bob Newman). Likewise with "marlervous" being Marler, and Abdul who likes to cook is Paula Abdul; with capitalised "Grey" that makes Paula Grey. Those 3 and Tweed are pretty much the only major characters barring 2 other footmen, and googling those names would have revealed Tweed's.
• Fourth clue is correct at face value. Professors are often associated with tweed.

H4 - For clue one; in the movie adaptations, what used to open now closes. Can you hear the sequence?
A4 - James Bond, the famous hero of Ian Fleming's novels.

• The first line is suggestive of a rapid-fire sequence, "bank" bolded to indicate "Bond"; if you tried to sound it all out in your head + "bang" it should remind you of the films. They used to open with that sequence, but the latest one closed with it instead.
• "Spewing phlegm" = phlegming, or Fleming, and "ianfuriating" misspelled for Ian.
• Latin for evening is vesper, or Vesper, a love interest from Casino Royale. "Luck" = 7; or 24 hours a day...seven days a week for 007. "Service" for Her Majesty's Secret Service.

H5 - What's a deadly zodiac sign? For the second character: no, not Daedalus. Think of Q7.
A5 - Amaya Bajaratt/Dominique, or Adrienne Rashad/Khalehla, from The Scorpio Illusion and The Icarus Agenda respectively, both by Robert Ludlum.

• Amaya was one of the few main characters back then who smart, vicious and capable (even if rather unhinged, villainous and dead).
• 2nd clue is all plot points, with "Forever Ashkelon!" being an oft-repeated code/battlecry, and Basque indicating her background. "Bekaa" = Bekaa Valley, the "illusive...zodiac network" indicates the title (deadly zodiac - scorpion); the network is made up of code-name Scorpios. 3rd refers to another battle-cry, "Death to authority!"
• 1st clue for Khalehla is also made up of plot points. "Brass" capitalised refers to Inver Brass, the fictional group behind the manipulations. "Sun too close...agenda" refers to the title, seeing as Icarus flew too close to the sun (also featured in Q7, Deus Ex series).

H6 - No Remorse whatsoever. The reference to the beach in the last clue gets in all the naughty places.
A6 - John Clark, recurring protagonist/main character in several of Tom Clancy's works.

• He was the leader of Rainbow Six, which is suggested when "six" is used instead of seven colours. In more recent novels, he is done with Rainbow and starts working for The Campus, a private intelligence operation.
• "Swim with the sea" = SEAL, in a novel called "Without Remorse". Rest of that clue is plot points. The sound is "ding", nickname of his good friend Domingo "Ding" Chavez. His wife is named Sandy (gets in the naughty places).

H7 - Everyone likes to pretend the second game didn't happen, like it was Invisible or something.
A7 - Deus Ex: Human Revolution, from Eidos Montreal and Square Enix.

• The first line is just another way to phrase the title. "Missing...link" to remind anyone who has heard of the dlc.
• The 2nd game in the Deus Ex series, "Invisible War" was pretty unpopular.

Hints and answers for Puzzle 2:

General - All characters are the same nationality as their authors, all part of the Entente of three; two R, two E, one F. Classics genre
Refers to the Triple Entente before World War I, consisting of Russia, England, and France.

H1 - Yes, that's right. Quartet, not Trio. There are actually four of them!
A1 - Milady de Winter/Anne de Breuil, from The Three Musketeers by Alexandré Dumas.

• Her first husband, Athos was part of the original 3 musketeers. "Seasonally cold...second husband" refers to Lord Winter; her branding was a plot point.
• Kitty was her maid, who had a crush on d'Artagnan of the yellow horse. Constance Bonacieux was his mistress and landlady, murdered by Milady. Next clue refers to her several roles, "an NE" is her name, and she was later beheaded.
• There are four musketeers including d'Artagnan later in the novel, belying the misconception suggested by the title.

H2 - Stop looking in the mirror, it's not fair on everyone else.
A2 - Rebecca Sharp, from Vanity Fair by William Thackeray.

• Her parents were a sozzled artist and a French dancer. "Fair" refers to novel, while "learnt my lesson...Joneses" suggests the moral of the novel.
• Second clue includes plot or character features, "nobility" rather than 'mobility' for context, and "steyne" for Marquis of Steyne, whom is a major factor in her downfall. Earhart, or Amelia, is/was her best friend. I believe the description doth fit her to a tee (the bankruptcy bit should have helped when googling).
• Extra hint indicates vanity, fair, i.e. title.

H3 - My lovely wife cheated on me with my best friend. So I shot him in a duel. 666; nature = number.
A3 - Pierre Bezukhov, a major character in Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace.

• Everyone knows War and Peace is the perfect airport paperback.
• "In...great strife" = war, Pierre tried to assassinate Napoleon with his pistol. 42 = meaning of life; his search for it lead him to the number of the Beast/Devil, 666. Through some linguistic gymnastics, he figures he is the appointed assassin of Napoleon. In his younger days, he and his friends strapped a bear to a policeman; later, he marries Natasha, widow of Prince Andrei, his friend.
• "Legal status" refers to his illegitimacy, and he tried to free his serfs. "Pierre" is a common French name. He wears glasses, was educated overseas. After discovering his wife Helene had had an affair with Dolokhov, his friend, they dueled and surprisingly Pierre won.

H4 - My author is the driving force of a particular 'Tank'. He is also very sturdy to boot.
A4 - Tess Durbyfield, the titular character of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Ubervilles.

• First line refers to the subtitle of the novel, "A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented".
• Tess lost her child early, and buried him as Sorrow. Next line refers to rape and era of publication vs the present. Angel Clare is the man she later falls in love with, and rejects her lack of virtue when he first finds out. What a tool.
• Hardy is the author's name, while the double standards refers to the slut-shaming that is still widely seen. After killing her oppressor, Tess flees to and is arrested at Stonehenge. Fourth clue is a plot point.
• Extra hint refers to Thomas the Tank Engine. "Sturdy" = Hardy.

H5 - It's not like I'm an axe-murderer...or am I? It's the justice system I tell you!
A5 - Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

• The novel follows Raskolnikov as he plots a murder for money, as well as his thoughts and actions proceeding the botched robbery. There is no mystery because we know he committed the crime.
• The rest are plot points, with "punishment" also thrown in for good measure. He did commit the murder with an axe, and the whole "justice system" topic is often referred to as 'crime and punishment'.

Hints and answers for Puzzle 3:

General - The first five characters vary from a schoolgirl to a survivor to the supernatural, and the last is simply a set of games. Fantasy/sci-fi genre

H1 - My siblings are I are often rumored to be secretly gay during the school holidays. (I know I know, technically they're not the same.) We eat Kitty-Kats which taste like Turkish Delight, before stepping out into the Dawn.
A1 - Lucy Pevensie, from the Chronicles of Narnia novels by C.S. Lewis.

• Lucy was the youngest of 4, at first the others thought she was imagining things but they discover Narnia for themselves later. (I think I made a mistake in assuming the Professor was their uncle)
• "Queen's...tiara" suggests she becomes a queen once there, which she is, in Narnia.
• The "warm and fuzzy...golden" cat refers to Aslan the lion, while "rock-hard table" = The Stone Table, mice = the ones who chewed through his bonds. The rest refers to the White Witch, who kept Narnia in a state of Christmas-less winter for 100 years.
• "I love you" italicised suggests I love Lucy (putting "me" would have been too easy). Counter-Strike = CS.
• "Rumored to be secretly gay" = 'in the closet', or wardrobe. Turkish delight is offered to her brother by the White Witch, while The Dawn Treader is one of the novels in the series.

H2 - A fellow wizened character in my series is alphabetically sorted after, by the central "a".
A2 - Sand dan Glokta, from The First Law series by Joe Abercrombie.

• "First law of magic" refers to series title and plot point; the novels had a 3-way war between the Union, the North, and the Gurkish.
• "Inquisitive guy" = Inquisitor. "Glock to", combined with "too much sea" = without the "sea", or 'c' = Glok. "And sand" meant add that, so Sand and Glokto, which should have been google-able. "And" being an anagram of "dan" was a bonus :) Next was a plot reference.
• He became a torturer for the Inquisition, and the "Practical" expertise was from Practicals, essentially assistants. He isn't a hero as such, but great character!
• "Average guy" = 'average Joe', while Abercrombie goes with 'fitch'. The Mean Girls reference indicated the pop culture context.
• "Wizened character" = wizard, "alphabetically sorted" implies sorting alphabetically, i.e. a-z. "By" the central "a" suggests 'bay'; with a-z after 'bay', this becomes Bayaz, the First of the Magi.

H3 - The dissident alien is rather an-al about some things. Think of the dragons as horses, and the flyers as .
A3 - Kristin Bjornsen, protagonist of the Freedom series by Anne McCaffrey.

• Plot point. The survivors named their new planet 'Botany'. Alien was named Zainal.
• "Bjorn" indicates name, rest are plot points or character features. Four novels in the series.
• Anne was most well known for her Dragonriders of Pern series.

H4 - Imagine those are small caps. Now imagine I bust one of those caps in your buttocks and it hits your spinal cord. Hi!
A4 - Death, featured in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.

• In the books, everything Death says is in small capitals. "Unfortunately forgetful" suggests Alzheimer's, which Pratchett suffers from.
• "3 buddies...grave responsibilities...horse" refers to the Four Horsemen; Death, War, Famine, and Pestilence. Despite the End of Time calling, they miss it when they go to drink. Lady Luck is another character (god) in the series, as is Granny.
• "Wash out the breeze" is another way of saying 'Rinse the wind', or Rincewind, a major Discworld character. Death finds him annoying as he survives many many times. Everyone should be scared of death :p
• The extra hint implies you die, or are about to, so who should show up? Death, of course!

H5 - "Sir!" "Sir, stop calling me Sir!" "Sir, yessir!" "Sir, not again!" "Sir, lead by example!" "Sir, I shall stop." "Sir Tenly!" "Sir?" "Sigh, we seem to be going Round and Round in Sir Kewls!"
A5 - King Arthur, legend of yore and name of the game.

• His step-sister, Morgana is perpetually pitted against him, and his father when he was alive. "'Blood' I got from a stone" refers to the Sword in the Stone myth, where he drew Excalibur out easily and was pronounced rightful king of Camelot/England.
• Merlin, master of magic, is on his side, and the island refers to Avalon. "In a land...time" refers to the opening sequence of the TV series 'Merlin', in which Merlin begins as a servant (easily google-able).
• The hint here was rather obtuse, but shows everyone is called "Sir", and features "Round" both capitalised and italicised,
  suggesting the Round Table, and the knights of Camelot.

H6 - It's a common punishment to have to clean out the first clue in that context, or at least when they used them in the World Wars. Remember, it's not in LA.
A6 - Trine 1 and Trine 2/Trine Franchise Pack.

• The military term for toilet back in the day was 'latrine'. "Outside of LA", that becomes Trine. "Both...2" means both Trine 1 and Trine 2. "Franchise" and "pack" are gentle suggestions.

Whew...now that's done, time to work on the next set of puzzles! Thanks to all those who participated and hopefully more will next time :) Pity the main game I was giving away had no entries though hehe. Any feedback is welcome in comments.